Moscow urges Yerevan to tone down public rhetoric and criticism

In an interview with Russian media, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin urged Armenia to start discussing the situation in the CSTO instead of public outbursts and criticism, Caliber.Az reports.

"We're all interested in seeing the CSTO continue to improve and become more effective as a military-political union, Undoubtedly, this would be facilitated by Armenia's early return to normal and full work within the organisation. Regrettably, our Armenian allies have so far in fact distanced themselves from the organisation. We urge our colleagues in Yerevan to start discussing pressing issues at the political and expert level, instead of engaging in public emotional outbursts and criticising the Organisation," the diplomat said.

Moscow believes that continuing the mutually respectful dialogue with Armenia within the CSTO framework meets Yerevan's security interests and serves to maintain peace and stability in the Eurasian space, including the South Caucasus, he noted.

Armenian authorities have repeatedly blamed CSTO and Russia for not fulfilling their commitments. Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan refused to attend the CSTO summit in Minsk on November 23. In October, he did not go to the EAEU and CIS intergovernmental council meetings in Bishkek, where the republic was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Maher Grigoryan. The Armenian Prime Minister also did not attend the CIS summit in Bishkek on October 13. In May, the head of the Armenian military department, Suren Papikyan, skipped the meeting of the CSTO Council of Defence Ministers in Minsk. In September, Armenia did not send rescuers to the CSTO exercises held in Belarus, and before that, the Armenian authorities considered it inappropriate to hold exercises of the CSTO peacekeeping contingents "Unbreakable Brotherhood-2023" in the republic.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in November that Russia supported Armenia's membership in the CSTO, which would allow Armenia, a close ally and strategic partner of the Russian Federation, to determine how it should develop relations with its external partners. According to him, Moscow has no prejudices on the matter. The minister noted that Western countries "actively cajole Armenia and want to befriend it against Russia". Lavrov said in October that Moscow hoped that the Armenian PM would stick to his declarations about the unchanging course of the nation despite attempts to "drag" it in another direction.